A Broken Cup

Recently, I've been taking the time to read the entire California Content Standards for Kindergarten through Third Grade.  My intention was to find creative ways to present this material to A. throughout the year.  I thought that she needed to keep up with her peers and feared that I would somehow be putting her at a disadvantage if she wasn't learning what the Joneses were learning.   

On September 12th, we hit the books pretty hard and, unfortunately, I was hit with more resistance from A. than I ever imagined possible.  She is a bright cookie and understands just about anything you put before her... but, quite suddenly it seemed, she wanted nothing to do with anything I gave her.  Of course, this was a huge red flag that we were doing something wrong... so we just s-t-o-p-p-e-d doing everything. 

We've taken a few days off for emptying our cup and I'm hoping that here, with a beginners mind, we'll discover something altogether new.  In fact, if I had to take the cup analogy even further, I would say that we've thrown the damn cup on the floor, stomped on it and shouted, "to life!"  Maybe here, amidst the broken [deconstructed] pieces, we can find a new perspective. 

Meanwhile, I've been plodding along at John Holt's classic, How Children Learn, and having quite a few light-bulb moments about my approach to our studies.  It seems that I've created a little version of public school at home again.  I'm so conditioned by my own education that I unconsciously fall back to this paradigm again and again!  Un-leanrning, it seems, is more difficult than learning!

Yesterday, I gathered all of the content standards together and set out to organize these several hundred pages into a three-hole binder.  Today I've discovered a better use for them and a better use of our time.  Instead of stressing about how to teach what the state of California has deemed necessary, I'm spending the next week paying attention to my girl and re-discovering what amuses her mind.  It was after all, a great mind, one who did not attend a factory-model school, who said this:

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” - Plato

Our Ever-Evolving Pedagogy

I finally got my hands on a copy of John Holt's classic, How Children Learn," and I am loving it.  His observations take me right back to when A. was a toddler and my own fascination with her innate ability to learn.  I'm about a quarter of the way through and will try to post some of my thoughts and favorite excerpts as I go.  

If you've followed our blog for very long, you might have noticed our ever-evolving methods.  In preschool, I fell for the "more-faster-better" mindset of early education.  I was so mesmerized by how fast A. learned that I thought the best thing to do was set up a little version of school at home, teach formal lessons, and keep spreadsheets of what was learned.

By Kindergarten I'd seen the error of my ways, began slowing down, and became more conscious of the need to nurture A. as a complete human being and not just a mind to be filled with information.  We began exploring Waldorf and Montessori methods and incorporated both into an eclectic style of home-education.  

For First Grade, we used the complete Oak Meadow curriculum and, while we both enjoyed it, I felt as though my own creativity was being squashed a bit by my conflicting desire to go by the book.  I also noticed that A.'s natural pace is pretty fast and that she, like I imagine all children, becomes board when she's not challenged.  I learned that I needed to balance nurturing with inspiring.  The beauty of home-education, of course, is that we can curtail each day to keep interest high and encourage that innate passion for learning.

For Second Grade, we're flying without a net for now -- although I am considering purchasing the Oak Meadow Second Grade Syllabus and using the lesson plans for inspiration.  I'm also reading the California Content Standards through Third Grade and thinking up ways to reach those goals without worksheets or too much desk time.  I'm not married to the standards, however, and do plan to take great liberties with them.

I'm discovering that, if left to her own devices, A. will draw, paint, read, observe nature with her binoculars, write and illustrate little books, play piano, invent games (she's particularity fond of creating board games with intricate rules and pieces), and, of course, engage in imaginative play.  I'm trying to cultivate a more relaxed attitude and trust that learning takes place naturally; however, I am also admittedly so conditioned by my own education that, for me, it's essential that we stick to a flexible schedule and work towards specific goals.  I guess you could say that we're eclectic, partially child-led homeschoolers still slightly fearful of taking the leap into purely orthodox unschooling.

We're studying Homer's Odyssey right now.  We found a great edition titled, The Adventures of Odysseus by Barefoot Books and we're using this myth to inspire inquiry into all of the other subjects -- including math.  We're working with fractions right now and have had some great discussions about how fractions, like myths, are small parts of a greater whole. 

We made salt clay yesterday and worked with fractions -- slicing the "pie" into half, quarters, eighths, and sixteenths, looking at equivalent fractions (two eighths is the same as one quarter, etc.) and exploring the four functions with fractions.  I gave A. some informal instruction in this last week and made a point to compare fractions to the musical notation with which she's already so familiar.  A. is keeping a Main Lesson Book and has drawn circles and pies and toyed with some simple equations (If 1/4 plus 1/4 equals 1/2, then 1/2 divided by 2 equals 1/4).  

Later, we used our salt clay to make Greek-inspired "pottery" and spent the early evening painting our creations with geometric shapes and black silhouettes (we'd planed to paint scenes from the Odyssey but quickly discovered that painting on clay is much more difficult than we'd imagined).

Every year I ponder the same questions, explore the same fears and worries --- mainly, can we do this without that formal institution called "school?"  Every year I come back to the same answer.  That answer is yes; however, it does require, as Holt explains, faith that children can and will learn on their own.  I'm working to loosen my grip a little each day -- while still encouraging self-discipline.  I think Holt said it best when he called it faith:   

"Call it a faith. This faith is that man is by nature a learning animal. Birds fly, fish swim, man thinks and learns. Therefore, we do not need to "motivate" children into learning, by wheedling, bribing, or bullying. We do not need to keep picking away at their minds to make sure they are learning. What we need to do, and all we need to do is bring as much of the world as we can into the school and the classroom; give children as much help and guidance as they need and ask for; listen respectfully when they feel like talking; and then get out of the way.  We can trust them to do the rest."

Natural Learning

Thanks to grandma, we did a little school shopping at our local Montessori shop last week.  Some of the fun things we found there include Wildcraft: An Herbal Adventure Game,  a Peg Loom, CitiBlocs, and, a card game called Yoga Pretzels.  On the back of each card are step-by-step instructions for getting into the pose and additional insights about the pose's health benefits.  There are even breathing cards to help us, "slow down, increase awareness, and make non-reactive choices" and fun games like "Yogini Says!"  A. is really enjoying yoga this week and I'm amazed by how many poses this kid knows.

We're also enjoying the new cooperative game, Wildcraft... and I'm realizing just how much A. learned this summer.  After tragedy struck in early June, all my plans for doing a summer lesson block on healing herbs came to a crashing halt.  What kept going though was our little healing garden and actual use of the herbs found there.  Without any formal instruction, worksheets, or boxed-curriculum, A. has learned to identify herbs and edible flowers including elderberry, calendula, violas, sage, nettles, oatstraw, catnip, and peppermint and can explain a little about how each is used for healing. 

I've also been reading the California Content Standards for Kindergarten through Third Grade and dreaming up creative ways to cover this material this year.  While I won't adhere to the standards completely (that would take all of the fun out of homeschooling!), I do want A. to keep up with her peers in the event that we transition to traditional school at some point. 

I'm hoping that we can learn some of these standards the same way that A. learned about healing herbs this summer.  By seeking out teaching-moments and cultivating an open and curious attitude, we can encourage natural learning and avoid some of the resistance and stress that squashes creativity and takes the fun out of education.

Creating the World

Autumn.  It's almost here and I cannot wait.  I'm always going on about how important it is to be present -- to enjoy the moment... but this summer cannot end fast enough for me.

Some of my restlessness is the heat.  We live in a pretty rural area and there is not much to do to escape the high temperatures.  Some of my restlessness is my grief, I'm sure.  I want to get on with things and leave this summer behind.  I'm eager to shake off all of the funk and crust and emotions that are no longer serving me... and move forward into the cool, dark half of the year.

It's interesting how autumn, which is really and ending, is also the beginning.  It feels like the right time for starting school, for getting back to the books.  As the days grow shorter, our minds turn inward.  As the nights grow longer, a deeper stillness settles within us.  It's the time of year of introspection and rich, warm soup.

(Funny how this continuum of beginnings and endings seems to be a topic to which I keep returning.  See: What Are the "Two Simple Happenings?")    

We've been easing back into the school-year with half-days and will begin our full schedule September 12th with the full Harvest Moon.  I like working with nature's rhythms like this.  When we're tuned into our natural environment, we're more likely to also notice our changing inner-seasons.  

We're trying on some unit studies this year and our first area of interest is mythology.  I'm calling the lesson block, "Creating the World," and plan to look at cosmogonic myths from around the world and stories that illustrate our shared heritage as human beings.  I have plenty of books on hand and we've checked out quite an assortment from the library --- as well as several audio books and DVDs.  

We'll also look at some historical figures who have overcome hardship and/or helped shape the world as we know it -- people like Marie Curie, John Muir, Rachel Carson, Hellen Keller and Thurgood Marshall -- and explore how real-life heroes resemble the heroes of mythology.  And, of course, we'll explore how each and every one of us is the author of our own story, creating our world each day with the choices that we make. 

After everything my family has been through, I think looking at the hero's journey will help remind us that, while life is full of darkness, it is also full of finding the light. 

Trusting Our Inner-Wisdom

Amelie's Sunset Heart

Stepping outside of the mainstream takes courage.  Once you're there, staying there takes both a commitment to your own ideals and trust. But how do we learn to trust our inner-wisdom?  The first step is by paying attention with moment-to moment awareness.

Our decision to homeschool didn't come easy.  We had all of the same questions and doubts that everyone else has.  Can we really do this on our own?  Will she really get the best education we can provide?  How will we create positive socialization?  What about college?

Now that we're doing it, I find that those same questions still arise... but so do their answers.  We began our homeschooling journey in preschool.  A combination of disappointment with the available choices and love for learning together with our little one brought us here.  Now it's four years later and we're two and half months into first grade.  What's keeping us here?  A commitment to paying attention and trusting in the process.

I recently attended a debate for County Superintendent of Schools.  While neither candidate seemed to have the same vision for our schools that I would like to see, one of them possessed a perspective that stood in stark contrast to my own.  In support of standardized testing and basing teacher's wages on their student's performance, she said in a slick voice, "Data makes the invisible visible."  I wholeheartedly disagree. 

What makes the invisible visible is not data but relationships.  No multiple choice examinations or collection of processed figures can replace what the human heart is capable of perceiving.  We don't need more "measurable" results.  We just need to listen more closely to our children. 

If you think back to when your kids were very small, you'll probably remember all of those early milestones -- stacking blocks, sorting objects, gripping crayons, drawing circles, naming shapes and colors... first steps, first words, hopping, skipping, and jumping.  As parents, we're naturally tuned into our children and we see each of these little miracles as they unfold.  Then something happens.  They turn five and we stop trusting ourselves.  We send them off to school and forget that we - more than anyone else - are equipped to understand them. 

Our cat has a debaucherous habit of waking us up in the middle of the night by knocking over anything and everything in his reach.  Last week, he jumped up on Am's dresser and startled her awake.  I actually didn't hear a thing until she came in to tell me about it.   

"I was scared and my heart was beating really fast, mama," she said.  "So I sat up and listened to my breath... and my heart slowed down again!"

If you've been following our blog, you know that mindfulness and breath awareness are essential elements in our core curriculum.  Hearing her say those words was the sweetest little gift -- more measurable than any test result or report card.

Whether you're educating at home or just committed to engaging in your child's education, paying attention moment to moment can help you stay connected to their inner-world.  When we when bring this level of awareness to our parenting, we see the little miracles as they unfold.  Often, the little things we notice are the greatest gifts of all.  They enrich our lives with joy and help us build a strong foundation for trusting our inner-wisdom, trusting the process of parenting, and trusting that life is the best teacher.

Finding Center

When my little one started talking at eight months, I was mesmerized and quickly got on the "more-better-faster" cultural bandwagon of early childhood education. 

By the time she was one, I'd filled the bath tub with foam letters and began forming three letter words during bath-time.   At bed-time I'd read slowly while pointing to the words on the chunky cardboard pages -- emphasizing the sounds of the letters and their place on the page.  I made everything I could into a learning game, "one ladybug plus two ladybugs equals three ladybugs!"

Before she was two, I'd bought mountains of books and and turned "playing school" into a game.  I prefaced everything with it's color, "hand mommy the green ball," "I like Daddy's red shirt," "that's such a pretty brown dog."  I mentioned numbers everywhere I saw them, "look at the five-petaled flower," "see the four birds on the fence." I counted the beans on her high chair tray as she ate them, "seven beans minus one bean is six beans!"

When she learned her shapes and colors before her second birthday, I was thrilled by her capacity for learning.  By the time she was three, she was reading and our homeschool was taking form as more than a game we played.  Learning together had become our way of life.  Each new day was an adventure in learning. 

We went on like this for some time.  The more she learned, the  more work I gave her.  (In hindsight, I think this is where we went wrong.)  I bought all of the workbooks I could find and sat her down at her desk each morning with phonics and math worksheets while I made breakfast or did dishes.  Before she was five, she'd completed all the workbooks for Kindergarten and First Grade phonics and math.  Before Kindergarten was through, she'd mastered the entire Fry's 300 sight word list and was, according to an assesment tool at Hoagies, reading at a fourth grade level.

But at the same time, I couldn't help but think that this wasn't the the best path.  As Kindergarten pressed on, I began to slow down... I began to ask myself, "where does this path lead?"  What was I really trying to accomplish here?  Isn't there more to nurture in a child than their intellect?  How much stress is this causing her?  And do I really want my girl sitting at a desk filling out worksheets all of the time?  I thought back to the fun we had when she was a toddler -- learning as we went about our day... rather than sitting at a desk with her tiny fingers cramped around a pencil.  It was about this time that I really got down to reading about different methods of education and discovered the wonderful world of Waldorf.

Waldorf's hands on learning approach seemed similar to what we'd been doing in the early years.  I liked the "how" -- the method of learning -- but I wasn't sold on the "when."  (Waldorf asks us to hold off on the academics until the child is six or seven years old.)  I was certainly ready to give up the worksheets -- but I wasn't completely ready to give up on the standards.  Waldorf asks us to do just that -- to let go of our pre-formed ideas of how, what, and when our children should be learning and, at least in the early years, embrace a softer, slower pace.  In this fast paced world, how does one let their child "fall behind" their peers in school?  To answer that question, I had to take a long, hard look at the system and the standards.  I had to question why traditional schools were teaching what they were teaching and how they were teaching it.  What I found was a strange history and a barrage of voices crying out for an education revolution...

Voices like John Holt, an early proponent of homeschool who argued that children do not learn in school because they are afraid of failing... voices like John Taylor Gatto who writes, "school often acts as an obstacle to success. To go from the confinement of early childhood to the confinement of the classroom to the confinement of homework, working to amass a record entitling you to a “good” college, where the radical reduction of your spirit will continue, isn’t likely to build character or prepare you for a good life..." 

... voices like Sir Ken Robinson who argues that the absence of music, art, and dance in our institutionalized schools is educating the creativity right out of our kids... and voices like Lawrence Williams who writes, "We continue this sad charade generation after generation, crushing the boundless potential of billions of children, yet we never consider trying another approach, an approach which would permit those infinite resources to flow abundantly into the world for the healing of us all."

When I look back at these six years, I regret pushing the worksheets and putting so much emphasis on keeping ahead of the standards (without first questioning the origin of those standards).  Those were the things that caused tears, worries, and took the fun out of learning.  Those were the things that I think disrupt a child's balanced growth by forcing the intellect too soon -- and this quickly became apparent to me.  But the other things we've done (looking for organic learning opportunities in everything we do together, immersion in archetypes, mindfulness, yoga, etc.) worked.  I think it's time for all of us to re-evaluate the "more-better-faster" model of education.  We should take care not to push too hard or neglect the arts in favor of strict academic achievements.  Our pendulum needs to swing back to the middle.  

For First Grade we've gone beyond the standards, beyond the books, slowed down, and embraced childhood more fully.  We're using the Oak Meadow curriculum, keeping it fun, looking at the big picture, and giving A. every chance to express herself artistically in an environment that nurtures more than her mind.  Our first nine days have included finger-knitting a dress-up scarf and headband, wet-on-wet watercolor painting, learning Mary Had a Little Lamb on the soprano recorder, beeswax crayon drawing, an array of archetypal stories, a review of the four processes of math with a story about The Four Gnomes (named Plus, Minus, Times, and Divide), nature walks and setting up a nature table, pressing flowers, watching the moon and learning about its phases, making a September calendar for our classroom, playing memory games with the contents of our CSA Veggie Box (while learning about eating locally, organically, & seasonally), and making time for plenty of imaginative play with natural toys and playsilks.

With the Autumn Equinox taking place this year on September 23rd, our mindfulness unit this month is Equanimity (or upekkha in the Indic language of Pali).  Equanimity is the capacity for experiencing whatever is happening with composure of mind and heart.  It is the ability to resist extremes and balance gracefully in the middle-ness.  As the days become equal to the night, we are practicing becoming aware of our own dark and light moments and learning how we can experience both with equanimity.  

I hope to make time for writing more about our Equanimity Unit  soon.  In the meantime, I'm continuing to find my own center and come back to it again and again.

Autumn is Calling

We've had beautiful weather the last few days -- cool and breezy with the scent of autumn in the air.  The leaves even sound different now... more crisp and crackly as the days grow shorter and summer comes to a close.

I love this time of year.  The cooler temperatures pull me into contemplative mode.  We're starting school on Wednesday and while I'm eager to hit the books, instead we're taking it slow.  Our first week back will be a short one -- just welcoming the school year and setting up the classroom with warm colors and textures, natural materials, and symbols of the season.

I'm delighted to announce that Oak Meadow is sponsoring Om School this year.  We're using their full First Grade curriculum (check out a sample here) and I'm looking forward easing into the year with artistic projects including knitting, drawing, painting, music, and cooking.  As always, we'll integrate our studies into the natural flow of daily activities... but this year I'm less eager for A. to display her mental talents -- and more excited about giving her opportunities for expressing herself artistically.

Like a lot of parents, I accepted the idea that an early start at education was the best thing for my child.  I rushed into reading and writing thinking that stimulating her mind early on was a healthy developmental choice.  But as time went by, I began to see that just because she could grasp the phonics and early math didn't mean that she should.  In the last year, I've come to agree with the sentiments expressed by OM, "a child is more than an intellect... and it makes a great difference in a child's balanced growth if the mind is forced into development too early." 

As always, our objective is to cultivate a wise heart.  This year I'm hoping to honor that pursuit in an even more nurturing environment -- one that supports an imaginative spirit and is "closer to the heart of a child than a more intellectual approach."  I'm grateful for the support we've found on our journey and looking forward to sharing our adventures with you here.  Autumn is calling!

The Art of Non-Doing

Sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves and for those we love is put down the to-do list and let go a little.  For many of us, the results-driven world makes that a difficult task.  One place I can usually cultivate a little mindful non-doing is in the tub.  The bubbles, the warmth, the calm of the water all have a way of restoring balance.  Yesterday's art project taught me that we don't even need to get our whole body in the tub to reap the benefits.  

We began with an afternoon walk and collected stones that were round, semi-flat, and stacked easily.  We brought the stones home, washed them, and then I filled the tub with warm, soapy water.  The girls wrapped their stones tightly with wool, then dipped them in the bubbly tub.  When wet, the wool shrinks around the stones.  The process of dipping, squeezing, and swirling the wool-covered stones in warm soapy water might calm even the most cantankerous kid.  It didn't take long before the girls were immersed fully in the moment.  Anything can be an exercise in mindfulness.  

We started with solid colors.  Then we went back and added little wisps of additional color.  I reminded the girls that this project was about the process more than it was about the end result.  As they worked, they learned that they couldn't force the wool to take the shape they wanted nor could they try to create too specific a design with the colors.  The best results came from letting go and allowing the result to manifest in its own time.  This is the art of non-doing.  When we let go of our attachment to the results, we are free to enjoy the process.

As Jon Kabat-Zinn writes in, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, "Non-doing doesn't have to be threatening to people who feel they always have to get things done.  They might find they get even more "done," and done better, by practicing non-doing."  

Too often, we sacrifice the joy of this moment for some distant objective.  We are already half way into the next moment before this moment ends.  Yet, enjoying our life requires that we are present for it.  Our striving, our constant doing, stands between us and our joy.  Non-doing may be a lost art in today's world; nevertheless, it's an art this home-educator intends to keep in the classroom.

Lovebugs of Compassion

Today was the first day of our summer home school co-op.  Our July mindfulness unit is compassion and we kicked off our studies with a discussion about what the word means.  The girls did a great job naming examples. They said:
 
Understanding
Loving speech
Caring
Feeling other people’s feelings
Comforting others when they are sad
Empathy
A soft heart
Saying Namaste!

After circle time, I read the story of Kuan Yin from The Lady of Ten Thousand Names: Goddess Stories from Many Cultures retold by Burleigh Muten.  Kuan Yin is the goddess of compassion and her name means, "She Who Hears the Cries of the World."   

In this telling of her story, Kuan Yin starts her life as a princess who wants nothing more than to spend her days praying for the sick and nursing underfed animals back to health.  When she chooses a life in a nunnery over her father's wish for her to marry, her father burns the nunnery to the ground.  When she escapes the fire, he orders her execution.  The princess wakes from the sleep of death in the land of the gods where she earns her name, "She Who Hears the Cries of the World" by looking down to Earth and assisting those in trouble.


One day, she hears the cries of her own father and, despite his treatment of her, she goes to his rescue.  Because her heart was full of nothing but pure love, she is able to heal the king of his malady by sacrificing herself.  The Earth trembles, rainbow-colored clouds gather over the palace, the scent of lotus blossoms fill the air, and flowers rain down on Earth.  Kuan Yin rises into the sky like the round golden moon, spreading her glowing light all over the Earth.  From that day forward, the king shared his wealth with the kingdom, no one ever went hungry, and healers were always available for the sick.


The girls took picture notes while I read the story.  We talked about practicing to have a heart that holds nothing but love and how letting go of anger softens our heart and brings peace into the world.  Then they shared their pictures and answered a few listening comprehension questions.


Next it was time for a little movement.  The girls declared themselves "love bugs of compassion" and proceeded to buzz around the house giggling.  After a little silliness, it was time for some yoga.  With gratitude for her life-giving energies, we giggled our way through a few rounds of sun salutations.


For the last part of our day, we put our compassion into action with a little community service project that I'm organizing through Children Creating Change.   I'm connecting kids with nursing home pen pals at the local home where A. gives piano recitals twice per year.  The girls know that they may never get a letter in return but they're sending pictures and notes to bring a little cheer into the lives of some special grandmas.  If your child would like to adopt a grandma or grandpa, please post a comment below and I'll happily facilitate the connection.

The girls just finished eating fresh raspberries from our favorite local farm... and were convinced this one was a heart-shaped raspberry of compassion.  Now they're back in the classroom giggling and coloring.  Their little squeals remind me that compassion comes in many colors and is as essential as knowledge.  The Dalai Lama once said, “Each of us in our own way can try to spread compassion into people’s hearts. Western civilizations these days place great importance on filling the human 'brain' with knowledge, but no one seems to care about filling the human 'heart' with compassion."  I couldn't agree more and look forward to nurturing a little more compassion with these lovebugs this summer.

Summer's Song

Outside the wildflowers of spring have dropped away into the golden hills of summer.  Leaves have grown full, gardens have grown abundant, and the busy-ness of spring has faded into summer's slow song.  American poet William Carlos Williams wrote, "In summer, the song sings itself."

The Summer Solstice came and went and now, after reaching her full strength, the sun is journeying away from us again.  Like the outside world, our inner world also moves in seasons rising and falling, growing and fading, always transforming and becoming.  This season of warmth and rest is a time for recognizing completions; for laying down what we've finished or what no longer serves us.  Here at Om School, we've said goodbye to Kindergarten and are relaxing into the next step of our journey.

We finished the year with Y for yogini and Z for Zigongosaurus, a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle-Late Jurassic age of Zigong, China.  While the learning never stops, we've also laid down my formal lesson plans for summer and have been enjoying unstructured learning.  Our schedule includes a new adventure with our meditation center, Spirit Rock, where the children's sangha has just begun.  Last week, A. enjoyed making new friends in the K-6 class and I enjoyed the adult sitting group and Jack Kornfield's dharma talk,  Turning of the Seasons.

For our June mindfulness unit, Summer's Song, we relaxed into the turning of the seasons; listened to nature as she slowed down; and let go of things we'd completed.  As summer continues, we'll bring conscious attention to the smells and tastes that are so different now than the rest of the year.  We'll listen to the cicadas and notice how white clouds dot the bright blue sky.  We'll keep a science journal of native birds, read books, and make lemonade.  We'll watch the sun set and smile as she dips behind the mountain.  Most of all, we'll listen as summer sings her song.

What are you doing to connect with your kids this summer?  What are you doing to connect with nature?  I'd love to hear your plans and ideas...

Wisdom Teachings in the Internet Age

The first ever Wisdom 2.0 conference, held April 30th-May 2nd in Silicon Valley, brought together staff from Google, Twitter, Facebook and other technology companies, along with Zen teachers and neuroscientists to explore living with wisdom in our technology age.

The list of speakers is here.  Be sure to sign up for their e-newsletter, join their Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter to learn about more Wisdom 2.0 events.

In this thought provoking panel discussion, Malika Chopra (Intent.com), Alana Kornfeld (Huffington Post Living), Susan Kaiser Greenland (The Mindful Child and Mindfulness Together), Mary Ann Brusset (Spirituality & Practice.com), and moderator by Tami Simon (Sounds True) discuss how can we use the tools that are now available to us in the twenty-first century for maximum raising of consciousness and responsible dissemination of the wisdom teachings.

It's well worth the hour to watch through the end where the panel discusses the challenges and opportunities that online communities face in creating meaningful experiences and how the wisdom and light discovered online might translate into our three-dimensional lives.

Education Revolution

"In this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning -- creating conditions where kids' natural talents can flourish."

As a home-educator, Sir Ken Robinson's words resonate with me deeply. "It's about creating a movement in education in which people develop their own solutions but with external support based on a personalized curriculum." I couldn't agree more and I'm grateful for the resources available today such as Oak Meadow and Mindfulness Together.

Factory-model education overlooks the importance of nurturing a child's talents. I believe it's up to the parents to become engaged in their child's education and demand more from their schools. What's more, when we learn to honor education as a process and not a means to an end, we give our children the gift of living in the present moment. It is only here, in this moment, that our lives really take place.

W is for Water

The spring rain has given itself to our studies this week.  We're working on the letter W and looking deeply at water.  Yesterday we took a long walk in the rain and collected drops to add to a pretty bottle we're displaying on our nature table. 

Water moves in a great cycle, evaporating from the surface of the ocean, forming clouds and producing rain.  Our feelings are often represented by images of water.  We feel "bathed in love" and experience "waves of emotion."  Water rolls in waves and scientists were astounded when they discovered the wave–particle duality of matter.

Water represents seventy percent of the earth's surface and seventy percent of our physical bodies. Our life began in water... in the gentle rocking waves of our mother's womb -- and it is from water that the first life on earth emerged.  In the Tao Te Ching, we see water as a great teacher... “Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.” 

American author and poet Henry David Thoreau said, “Water is the only drink for a wise man."  Yet, despite water's essentially for survival, it has become the victim of indifference.  The average individual daily consumption of water in America is 159 gallons, while more than half the world's population lives on only 25 gallons.  Eighty percent of our water bottles end up in landfills - many of them in India - and every minute, one person in India dies of a water related disease. (from GOODMagazine.com) What's more, one sixth of the world's population does not have safe drinking water. (from: http://www.mindfully.org/Sustainability/Americans-Consume-24percent.htm).

What can we do?  We can talk to our children about water.  Their awareness is always the first seed of change.  We can also model healthy habits...

On a recent trip to Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center,a woman in the restroom caught my daughter's eye.  She was at the sink basin and, after wetting her hands, turned the faucet off to lather rather than letting it run.  Without a word, I watched my little one step up to the sink, turn on the water, wet her hands, and then turn it off again.  Our actions speak more loudly than our words and our kids are always watching.  

The next time it rains, try siting quietly with your child and listening.  Listen for the sounds of the drops on the roof, the rustling of the rain in the trees.  Sit and breathe and listen.  Then turn your palms upwards - as if the rain were falling gently into your hands.  Try sending your awareness down to the center of your hands and sensing your body from within.  Can you feel the gentle patter of the raindrops? 

We'll continue looking deeply at water throughout the week... thanking each drop that falls from the sky.  Then, this weekend, we're taking a mini-vacation to the ocean.  Standing in awe of the ocean's vastness is always a reminder that the water flowing on earth is the same water flowing in our own bodies. When we see that the four elements of the cosmos are the same elements in our body, we learn to honor both.

Earth Day: Ten Small Changes

Earth Day is April 22nd.  This is a perfect time to talk to our kids about our connection to the earth and to tune up our daily living habits.  While crafts and games are fun expressions of our commitment to honoring the planet, it's real-life practices that actually make a difference... and even the smallest changes matter.  More than anything else, modeling eco-compassionate behavior teaches our kids to live consciously.  What follows are ten small, easy to accomplish practices that will continue to make a difference long after the Earth Day excitement has settled.

1.) Line Dry and Cold Wash.  Washing in cold water preserves your clothes, saves energy, and saves money.  Electric dryers emit approximately one ton of carbon dioxide per household per year and they are the second biggest energy suckers in American homes.  (http://www.linedryit.com/arbitrage/pages/Home) Want to jazz up your laundry?  Try these Set of Eight Music Note Clothespins from Etsy.

2.) Say no to dyes.  What goes on your body is as important as what goes into it.  Recent studies have linked artificial food dyes to cognitive impairments and behavior problems.  According to Helen Coronato, author of Eco-Friendly Families, the four most popular dyes are Red 3, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Blue 2.  Coronato suggests having a dangerous dye scavenger hunt.  Even if your kids are just learning to read, this is a fun way to enlist their help.  Make a list of these dyes and send your kids into the bathrooms and kitchen to gather lotions, toothpaste, shaving cream, breakfast cereal, mac and cheese, chips, and other packaged foods.  You'll be surprised at what is lurking in your home.


3.) Discover DEA.  While your kids are reading labels for dyes, you might want to check your personal-care product labels for Diethanolamine (DEA).  In his book, Green Made Easy: The Everyday Guide for Transitioning to a Green Lifestyle, Chris Prelitz explains that DEA is widely used in shampoos, creams, and lotions to thicken the consistency and can react with other ingredients to form a toxic carcinogen.  DEA cannot be purged from the body and builds up over time.

4.) Go herbal.  Forget what you've seen in television commercials, put down that can, and make your own bath and beauty products.  Common ingredients in store-bought hairsprays include carcinogenic PVP and formaldehyde.  Here's how to make your own: gently boil a few cups of rosemary sprigs and steep for 2-3 hours.  Strain and pour liquid into a spray bottle. Spritz for a light, eco-friendly hold. But don't stop there... Rather than supporting corporations selling dangerous products, make your own bath salts using this simple recipe: 3 cups Epsom salt, 1 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup sea salt.  Add fresh rosemary, lavender, or even olive oil.  For a body exfoliator that leaves your skin smooth and silky, mix olive oil with coarse raw sugar and smooth in a circular motion over skin.  Want to go really green?  Try growing your own herbs.   

5.) Join a CSA.  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) means membership with a local, organic farm where you receive a weekly box of seasonal, organic, local produce.  The best organic food is what's grown closest to you because fewer fossil fuels are used to get it to your home.  The added treat we've discovered since making the switch is the connection to earth that comes from eating what's in season.  Seasonal cooking really does make every meal feel like a holiday.  Use Local Harvest (www.localharvest.org) to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.  If you're in our neck of the woods, try Riverdog Farm.

6.)  Meat your meat.  The meat industry accounts for 70 percent of water pollution in the USA and studies show that going completely vegetarian has a more positive eco-effect than driving a hybrid car.  What's more, the use of antibiotics in livestock contributes to antibiotic resistance and the rise in "super-bugs." One of the best-known super-bugs, MRSA -- a kind of staph infection -- kills about 18,000 Americans annually.  That’s more than die of AIDS.  This doesn't mean that you have to go totally vegan.  Rather, we simply need to make smart choices.  Look for antibiotic-free eggs and meat at your local market or use Local Harvest to find a family farm that sells hormone-free and antibiotic-free grass-fed beef and free-range chicken.  If you're in our area, contact Gayle Pullman at Loconomi Farm.

7.) Choose Nature.  One more way to honor and celebrate Earth is by encouraging creative, nature-based play.  Instead of buying noisy toys that need batteries or electricity, let your kids hunt for supplies outside and build their own forts and playhouses.  One mama we know and love recently built a life-size tepee for her daughter in their garden using tree branches, ribbons, and beads.  Not creatively inclined?  Fairy houses like the one pictured here, Fairy House Retreat for a Weary Fairy, are always available on Etsy.  Another easy way to stimulate imaginative play and encourage innovation is with Play Silks ... and if there is one thing this planet needs now, it's innovative ideas to bring us into a greener tomorrow. Willow Tree Toys, Chinaberry.com, and Bella Luna Toys are wonderful online resources for natural toys and books that encourage kids to love Mother Earth.  

8.) Become PVC free.  Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC or vinyl), is used widespread in schools across the nation, threatening children’s health. The Center for Health, Environment & Justice is kicking off a brand new PVC-free schools campaign to encourage schools to ditch the poison plastic in favor of safer alternatives.  You can read more on their website and don't forget to do a complete sweep at home and make sure you are PVC free.  One way to be sure if the packaging of a product is made from PVC is to look for the number "3" or for the letter "V" inside or underneath the universal recycling symbol (the symbol used to designate recyclable materials. It is composed of three chasing arrows that form a Möbius strip or unending loop (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_symbol)). This means that the product is made of PVC. Soft flexible plastic products that are made with PVC often have a distinct odor.

9.) Don't forget Mr. Whiskers.  Most of us love our pets just like members of our family.  Yet, most canned pet food available at supermarkets contains the lowest grade of meat possible, called "4-D," made from meat from animals which are dead, diseased, dying or have been destroyed.  Make a humane and healthy choice for your pets by purchasing organic food for them too.  Check out the All Natural Pet Food Directory for more information. 

10.) Green your consciousness.  The Benefits of Meditation are finally being recognized by the medical community.  This Earth Day, consider clearing out a corner of a room, transforming a nook in your yard, or converting your patio into a place of peace.  Avoid the temptation to use quiet time for making lists or checking email and for a few designated minutes each day, try sitting with nothing but your breath.  When your mind turns back to usual worries, plans, or concerns, just say, "not breath," and go back to a place of quiet focus.  For audio instructions on both sitting and walking meditation, check out the Insight Meditation Center's Meditation Instructions.

Going green shouldn't cost anything, it shouldn't make us worry, and it shouldn't end when the buzz of Earth Day subsides.  Rather, making eco-compassionate choices should feel good because at our deepest level, we are all connected.  What's more, when we live consciously, we demonstrate to our kids our commitment to honor one another and to honor and preserve our planet.

At the deepest level of ecological awareness you are talking about
spiritual awareness. Spiritual awareness is an understanding
of being imbedded in a larger whole, a cosmic whole,
of belonging to the universe.

-  Fritjof Capra